The Next-Door Neighbour

Living in the wide open spaces One of the things we love about our place is the open space and the semi-rural atmosphere. Across the road are some stables and our house is set back far enough on our one acre block that the dust from the gravel road doesn’t bother us too much. We …

Gaia 2022: The Yield by Tara June Winch

Yield itself is a funny word - yield in English is the reaping, the things that man can take from the land, the thing he’s waited for and gets to claim. A wheat yield. In my language it’s the things you give to, the movement, the space between things. (The Yield - Tara June Winch) Profoundly …

Phosphorescence by Julia Baird

"How do we continue to glow when the lights turn out? All we can do really is keep placing one foot on the earth, then the other, to seek out ancient paths and forests, certain in the knowledge that others have endured before us. We must love. And we must look outwards and upwards at …

Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 3 – the Jungle

In the Jungle by Garry Fleming Welcome back to our whirlwind tour of the world. On day three we are leaving the bustling city of Bangkok and adventuring deep into the jungle. This image of the jungle was created by artist Garry Fleming and was simply labelled "In the Jungle." Fleming is actually an Australian …

Climate Change: Australian Frustration at Government Inaction

Image courtesy of Rod Long - Unsplash “These crises present us with the need to take radical decisions that are not always easy. At the same time, moments of difficulty like these also present opportunities that we must not waste.”Pope Francis COP26 has come and gone and it has not been the best of times …

Gaia Reading Challenge – Diary of a Young Naturalist

“I have the heart of a naturalist, the head of a would-be scientist, and bones of someone who is already wearied by the apathy and destruction wielded against the natural world.” Dara McAnulty,2020 From Goodreads... Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty’s world. From spring and through a year in …

Queens Park, Toowoomba

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter. Rachel Carson There is an old Chinese proverb that says the three greatest physicians in life are nature, time and patience. I think it is interesting that nature is listed first. It …

World Wildlife Day

It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth. David Attenborough World Wildlife Day is a celebration of the incredible diversity evident in our world’s plant and animal life and the theme for this year is …

Gaia 2021: Kakadu by Peter Jarver

Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu by pen_ash - pixabay My first Gaia read for 2021 is another great Lifeline find, Kakadu: A Guide for All Seasons by Peter Jarver and Quentin Chester. I had never heard of Peter Jarver (1953-2003), but his photography in this book is absolutely stunning. Originating from South Australia, Jarver developed an …

#Book Snap Sunday: Optimism by Bob Brown

It's not easy being Green. (Brown, 2014) Warm as a hot cuppa on a cold day, and bracing as a dip in the Franklin, Bob Brown’s candid, often humourous memoir unfolds the improbable life story of the policeman’s son from Trunkey Creek who grew up to confront presidents and prejudice on behalf of our beleaguered …